Published: Wednesday, October 23, 2013 at 05:49 PM.

The 27-year-old autistic man will release his first CD more than 20 years after doctors told his parents their best option would be to institutionalize him.

Jo and Rick Soria balked at the advice and focused on their faith to raise a violent, non-verbal 3-year-old boy into a man who not only can speak, but sing.

“When you have a special needs child you always wonder about the future,” Jo Soria said as her son rehearsed with his voice coach. “ … He has found his place in this world, and you know what? We’ll help him get wherever.”

These days, that includes performances across the Panhandle and in Tallahassee and Alabama. His autism, rather than crippling him as doctors said, has been a point of strength for Reid.

“He celebrates his autism,” Jo said. “He celebrates who he is.”

The 2004 Choctawhatchee High School graduate enjoyed singing at a young age, but didn’t consider trying to take it somewhere until he was about 22.

“It just came to me,” Reid said.

He started doing musical theater with Pyramid Inc., an organization that helps adults with developmental disabilities explore their passion for the arts. From there, the offers for solo performances began to come in and Reid continued to blossom.

Now, just shy of his 28th birthday, Reid is releasing his CD, “Imagine the Possibilities” with help from his parents and his voice instructor Greg Brown, who oversaw the arrangements of several of the songs and wrote the title track.

The 27-year-old autistic man will release his first CD more than 20 years after doctors told his parents their best option would be to institutionalize him.

Jo and Rick Soria balked at the advice and focused on their faith to raise a violent, non-verbal 3-year-old boy into a man who not only can speak, but sing.

“When you have a special needs child you always wonder about the future,” Jo Soria said as her son rehearsed with his voice coach. “ … He has found his place in this world, and you know what? We’ll help him get wherever.”

These days, that includes performances across the Panhandle and in Tallahassee and Alabama. His autism, rather than crippling him as doctors said, has been a point of strength for Reid.

“He celebrates his autism,” Jo said. “He celebrates who he is.”

The 2004 Choctawhatchee High School graduate enjoyed singing at a young age, but didn’t consider trying to take it somewhere until he was about 22.

“It just came to me,” Reid said.

He started doing musical theater with Pyramid Inc., an organization that helps adults with developmental disabilities explore their passion for the arts. From there, the offers for solo performances began to come in and Reid continued to blossom.

Now, just shy of his 28th birthday, Reid is releasing his CD, “Imagine the Possibilities” with help from his parents and his voice instructor Greg Brown, who oversaw the arrangements of several of the songs and wrote the title track.